A former Indy Car racer bagged the Goodguys 2012 Hot Rod of the Year award at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend with a low-slung 1932 Ford roadster.

Tom Gloy, a former Trans-Am series champion and 1984 Indy 500 14th-place finisher, finally had his day in the winner’s circle at Indy, September 23, alongside his beautifully detailed, Bonneville-inspired deuce built by Roy Brizio Street Rods in South San Francisco, California.

Gloy said he went to Brizio wanting a channeled ’32 Ford roadster, but Brizio cautioned him, “Channeled ’32 Fords aren’t very comfortable, and when channeled, they can look too wide.” Brizio also told Gloy that he believed the driver often “sat up too high” in the channeled cars he’d seen over the years. Gloy wanted to drive the car, so the challenge became building a channeled, traditionally styled roadster in which Tom could sit low and go fast.

To get the width right, Brizio and his build team narrowed the cowl, grille and windshield. They also sectioned the radiator shell 3-1/2 inches. To get Tom down low in the seat, the floorboards were radically lowered – more so than any other hot rod to roll out of Brizio’s shop. Out back, the rear quarters were filled and smoothed and the rear wheels tucked tightly against the channeled body.

The custom Brizio chassis features torsion bar suspension from Moal Coachbuilders and a classic hot rod rake, courtesy of the chromed Magnum five-inch dropped axle. Custom made 18- and 16-inch E.T. knockoff wheels are enhanced with custom machined caliper brackets designed to fill the backside of the wheels. The 302-cubic-inch Hilborn EFI Ford crate motor and Tremec five-speed get the roadster moving, while Wilwood brakes haul it down from speed.

Fine work … certainly up to the usual Brizio standard of excellence. Did anyone else notice Eric Clapton’s phantom ’32 Ford 4-door Victoria in the shop photos? I saw it at the last Grand National Roadster Show … so subtle that I almost didn’t notice the “extra” doors !